Perhaps the proudest moment I’ve had as the editor of New York Family was the time I had the honor of presenting a Blackboard Award to Principal Brian O’Connell of Scholars Academy (that’s him in the photo below), an outstanding public school (grades 6-12) in the Rockaways. The previous year the school was devastated by Hurricane Sandy, with over 60 percent of their students rendered homeless or dislocated—and yet, by June of that year they somehow managed to graduate their entire senior class!
But here’s the thing I most want to impress: as emotional as that particular award was, every time we give out a Blackboard Award to a deserving school or educator, I’m inordinately proud and humbled to be among these local heroes—our teachers and principals who give so much to our children.
So please, please, please, take a moment right now to tell us about a wonderful school (or principal) in your child’s life. Click here to nominate a school or principal.
The Blackboard Awards celebrate excellence in education in all NYC school communities (public, private, charter, parochial, and nursery)—and we are presently accepting nominations for schools and principals (we celebrate teachers in the late spring). The ceremony to celebrate the honored Schools and Principals will be held on December 9, 2014, at the Auditorium at Scholastic in Manhattan. For more information about the Blackboard Awards, visit blackboardawards.com. Nominate Now! »
